The Jammu and Kashmir policeman who threw a shoe at chief minister Omar Abdullah during an Independence Day function here but was pardoned by him and subsequently released Wednesday chanted “We want freedom” before a huge crowd that had gathered at his village house near here to greet him.
He also pledged to support what he called a “genuine freedom struggle” and termed separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the “true” leader of the people of Kashmir.
After being arrested immediately after the shoe-throwing incident, Abdul Ahad Jan, a head constable, was sent for interrogation. On Wednesday, Jan was released in the presence of Mr Abdullah’s adviser, Mr Mubarak Gul, and his (Jan’s) relatives at the Srinagar police control room.
It was officially stated that the suspended head constable was given “a warm send-off” and that Mr Gul saw him off in the presence of police officers. “Mr Abdullah’s magnanimous gesture is in sync with the holy month of Ramzan which teaches us to be compassionate, righteous and forgiving,” an official release said. It claimed that on the occasion Jan praised the government and shouted pro-government and pro-police slogans.
But the moment Jan arrived at his village of Ahas to a hero’s welcome he announced before a huge crowd outside his house that he stood for Kashmir’s “freedom” and that he had resigned at 7 pm on August 15. He also claimed that during interrogation he was offered promotion to DSP if he agreed to say publicly that he was asked to throw the shoe at Mr Abdullah by former Opposition PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed or Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Meanwhile, curfew or curfew-like security restrictions were back in force in most towns of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar. Clashes between pro-freedom crowds and policemen were reported from some areas.